WITH a close eye on the IAAF World Championships in Doha and the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, the IAAF has addressed concerns that athletes and coaches may have about competing in the heat and reducing heat stress.
The advice in their document Beat the Heat, is particularly aimed at endurance athletes. Perhaps the governing body was spurred into producing this vital report when they discovered that only 15% of athletes competing in the 2015 Beijing World Championships carried out specific heat acclimatisation work!
In Doha, it is predicted that temperatures will be in the 30s during the evening sessions for example – and that peak midday period temperatures could be around 40C.
When a runner is working hard in hot and humid conditions the ability of the body to cool itself will be reduced as will the potential work capacity of the body.
How to prepare for the heat in Doha
The IAAF notes the best way to prepare the body for hot conditions is to train in the heat. They recommend that 7-10 days will be sufficient but 14 days is optimal for such acclimatisation. However, this might mean that for really optimal performance that a two-week heat acclimatisation camp takes place first before a true pre-event training camp.
This story is from the September 26, 2019 edition of Athletics Weekly.
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This story is from the September 26, 2019 edition of Athletics Weekly.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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